Romance and Rivalry
by Amaya0kami
Summary: Thanks to Eren setting up a dating profile for Mikasa, she hits it off with an unbelievable guy named Levi online. Thing is, they don't know what each other look like yet and Mikasa unknowingly runs into a rude and annoying little man at the gym. The next day she meets the man she chatted with online. Needless to say, the blind date doesn't go as planned. Modern AU
1. Catch

"Okay hear me out, Mikasa. You ready? It's a brilliant idea. It'll solve all your problems and make your dreams come true."

"Spit it out already, Eren."

He fanned his hands out to generate unnecessary suspense before confidently spewing out, "_Dating website_." With a goofy grin, Eren hummed questionably at her to rush out a reply. He seems so proud of the proposal, like it assured applaud.

The held-in breath Mikasa locked in her lungs dispensed. How embarrassing. She actually thought he'd make a helpful suggestion. "God, _no._ There's crazy people on those things."

Eren relined back, his weaved fingers supporting the back of his head. "Don't be paranoid."

The two fresh college students were discussing how they were going to spend their time at university. Somehow that ambitious (and shortly lived) conversation crumbled and drifted to the horrible idea of setting up a dating profile for Mikasa after Eren not-so-nicely pointed out that she's been single for three years and needs to find a date.

"You know that gross married couple in Professor Pixis's class?"

Mikasa tilted her head, wondering why her classmates were suddenly brought up. "Hannah and Franz?"

"Yeah, them. I heard they met on a dating website. And guess what? They're _not_ serial killers. Surprise, surprise."

"It's still a risky gamble."

"Listen, Mikasa." Eren heaved himself up from the couch and dropped down to the carpet, his legs folded under the coffee table. He slid over the laptop across the glass and booted it up. "Dating websites are for lonely people with busy lives or people who moved into a new town like us that don't have time to met people."

"I have plenty of time. And I'm not lonely."

Eren tapped his finger against the table as he waited for the WiFi to connect. "Could've fooled me with all your moping around and Google searches. Fyi, typing_'How To Attract A Mate' _ isn't going to help you find a boyfriend."

"That was _one time_. And I already told you I was researching for my Sociology paper."

Eren gave a solid nod with a perched brow. "_Sure_."

Mikasa let herself fall on the couch with a sigh, the back of her hand resting on her forehead. "I live on campus with a ton of people my age, but I still can't find a _single_ person I click with. Or tolerate longer than a day." Mikasa wasn't actively seeking a mate—she had better things to do than find _The One_. Other than her extensive list of time-consuming hobbies, she has friends (more than she can keep up with without getting socially drained) and she's barely three months into college with enough of assignments to keep her occupied. But in the midst of her daily schedule, she can't help but notice that she's lacking a common necessity. That being: a special someone. It never bothered her when she was single in Middle School and most of High School, with the exception of senior year when she gave one of Eren's friends a chance. She marks that as the worse decision of her young life.

Now that she started college and sees nothing but couples around her (like the annoying lovey-dovey pair at her new part-time job) she couldn't help but to feel a little left out and question whether she's being too picky or if there's something wrong with her.

But she could hardly convince herself that it's_ her fault_ that she's single. Every time she meets a new guy they're not merely on a different page compared to her, they're in a different book all together. They're either loud and obnoxious like Eren and his buddies or they're total tools with no backbone. Or more commonly, they're already taken.

Enough of guys show interest in her, but she's not an idiot. She knows it's only her looks that attract them in the first place. Most of the time after having an actual conversation with her, the guy in question will lose interest and find her boring. Or in worst cases, they'll keep being persistent with the intention of getting in her pants while ignoring her personality. She just wants to meet someone that likes the same things as her—not _everything,_ she can compromise—but at least someone who shares her love for fitness and heath. She doesn't even have a_ friend_ she could relate to in that respect. Even her best friend is a fast food junkie who's even lazier than Eren. Because of Mikasa's "choice" in friends, she's stuck working-out alone without anyone to talk to about diets and exercise routines. She'd love to get into a relationship with someone who could share her enthusiasm. Someone that would also respect her hobbies and past times without dragging _gender_ into it would be decent catch. That's another pet-peeve she can't stand about most of the sexist guys she meets on campus, which just so happens to be the jocks. In other words, the only guys she would have anything in common with don't take her seriously.

To prove this, the other day in work she tried to flirt with some jersey-wearing jackass and he quickly made the assumption that she was a lesbian because she acted 'masculine'. Mikasa didn't have to remind the uninformed jerk not to believe stereotypes because her coworker, who just so happens to be a lesbian, took her break early and demonstrated what an actual masculine lesbian would look like in the parking lot. There's still some blood on the concrete from where his tooth got knocked out.

"It's not easy to meet someone who likes the same things as you. That's where dating websites come in handy. You feed the account with your interests, the things you like and dislike and it calculates the results. Then the site will match you up with your dream person in your area." With the way Eren went on with his sales pitch, it's honestly surprising how he's flunking Economics already.

"Does it really work like that?" She couldn't help but to be skeptical. Those dating websites you see on commercials with the married couples (that are totally _not_ paid actors) talking about how they found their perfect match through so-and-so dot com always seemed like a not-so-cheap gimmick.

"Yeah." He belatedly replied, distracted by his fingers skipping around the keyboard. By this time in the conversation, Eren had already signed her up for an account. Mikasa had a sneaking suspicion that she is _paying_ for this not-so-cheap gimmick; obviously this site isn't going to find her "future husband" for free. It's common knowledge that Eren knows her debit card number by heart, which he conveniently uses to buy his stupid limited edition pre-order video games. Never once had he paid her back and even though this is _his_ dumb scheme, _she's_ still paying for it.

By the looks of it, he was currently filling in her personal bio and interests. Eren knew Mikasa for a long time, there's no doubt that he'd fill it out accurately, but she still questioned him on what he was writing.

"I'm just typing in that you're a new college student that likes working-out at the gym, fighting and martial arts, competitive sports—and, right. I'll need a picture."

"Don't put my face on that serial killer mating site."

"Your matches will want to know what you look like."

"My interests and hobbies should tell them if they like me or not. What I look like should have nothing to do with it."

"Fine, fine. You make a good point. You'd probably get too many weird messages if you post a pic anyway."

Mikasa never saw herself as the beauty many others sum her up to be, but just because she didn't agree with the claim doesn't mean she doesn't get unwanted attention because of her looks. Meeting someone that has interest in her _before_ they know what she looks like will help her decide if they are genuinely into her for her personality and nothing else. At the very least, they might just see her appearance as a bonus if they happen to find her attractive. Maybe this dating website deal isn't such an awful idea after all.

Appearing satisfied with himself after a few more minutes of constant typing, Eren removed his hands from the keyboard. "That should do it."

"Now what?"

"...We wait."

Mikasa figured she'd have plenty of time to go over Eren's mistakes and fill in some info on her own that he missed, but before she had the chance to edit her personal history, a flashing icon in the corner of the page stole both of the freshman's attention.

"Ah! I got a match already!"

"_You_ got a match?" Mikasa questioned, wondering if this profile belonged to him or her for a second. Eren gestured his hand eagerly toward him, luring Mikasa over to peer at the screen with him, although she's clearly already invested in curiosity of her own accord without his insisting. He moved the cursor over and clicked on the profile that the site suggested to them.

The first thing she noticed was the default icon that decorated the profile, similar to the one on her page where a users personal picture should be displayed.

"Looks like he's shy too and doesn't wanna post a pic. See? You're a perfect match!"

She made an insatiable noise in her throat. It's hypocritical to admit it, but she's a little disappointed by that. She would like to know what this match looked like. Not because she had much of a physical type and needed to see his looks before she involved herself, but only because she was curious. There's no helping it, though, and it's really not much of a big deal.

Eren's nose came within an inch of the computer as he painted the strangers profile with his gaze, his big-head blocking most of the screen. He's awfully excited for a match that isn't even his.

"Ah...hold up. He's thirty. Is that too old for you? I can click next and wait for another one to pop up."

Mikasa finished off her water and wrung out the plastic bottle in her firm grip. She swiped her tongue over her lip before replying, "Let's lurk the profile first."

Mikasa didn't care much for age as long as the person wasn't a young High School student or an old grandpa. Thirty is a pretty decent age for someone like her. Recently she's come to the conclusion that she doesn't relate to many people her own age, but someone in their thirties is bound to be mature and have their life together a bit.

She's only twenty-one herself but she's the type of girl that would rather beat on a boxing bag for a natural high than go out partying. Not having the desire to bar-hop and attend dormitory parties really isn't the lifestyle of the average collage student, though. It's no surprise why she feels like an outcast, but the bar scene is rowdy and attracts the most annoying people this planet has to offer. The nightlife is even too much for _Eren_ and he's a troublemaker that loves easy bait. This might explain why both of them are single; they rarely mingle outside their clique. Eren and Mikasa still stick to the same crowd they went to High School with and most of them decided on the same local university, meaning there's no pressure to find new companions to ensure they aren't lonely through their college years. But staying in the same safe group doesn't help single people find a date.

Most days they only leave the apartment to attend classes. But now that she's more settled in on campus, Mikasa started hitting the gym everyday again and it also helps that she started working too. Eren on the other hand is the definition of shut-in. The only time he socializes is on the phone or when his friends come to him. All he does is play violent video games all day while screaming at twelve year olds on PSN, or he lounges on the couch in his three-day-old boxers while browsing lewd imageboards.

If Mikasa hadn't known Eren as long as she had and didn't considered him family, she would've kicked him out by now and put an ad out in the paper for a new roommate.

Eren cracked the pause in the room with a thunderous chuckle. Not that she_ cared_ much about this dating website business, but she merely became curious enough to wonder what he found so amusing and snuck an undetected peek over his shoulder. A massive wall of text hogged the entire screen.

"Wow, he has _a lot _of dislikes." Eren sounded pleasantly stunned. "That's fucking _impressive_. How long do you think that took him to write? A week? Maybe two. "

Comparing the dislike-list to the like-list was like comparing the vast ocean to a narrow creek. Mikasa had to admit that was actually impressive in a really antagonistic way.

"Says he likes working-out and combat training," Eren paused to bounce giddily in his spot as he pointed a finger at Mikasa to add emphasis to the fact their first two likes were identical. She dodged his finger and swat his hand, trying not to smile. Chuckling, he returned to the screen and kept reading. Once again, the interest spiked up for Mikasa. "And he likes writing, Grey Earl tea, animals, and..._cleaning_." Eren scratched his chin. "That's a weird thing to put down. Who likes doing chores? He's weird, I don't know about him."

Eren's mood regarding the match suddenly shifted and Mikasa sighed. He's the one that made the damn account in the first place. She tried to warn him that these kind of sites attracted weirdos; his dislike-list makes it clear that he is in fact a weirdo—but now that she's curious she's not going to command Eren to sign out over a little (okay, a lot of) pessimism.

Mikasa nudged Eren's head with her temple, trying to fit in the frame of view. "What are his dislikes?"

"What _doesn't _he dislike, is the real question." Eren scrolled a little more to reveal the entirety of the essay and internally read through the first paragraph, then summed it up. "Okay, here we go. He hates loud and obnoxious people and most people in general. He already has one eccentric friend and that's all his patience could handle, so if you fall into the above category you should just go away and buy a muzzle for yourself—wow, he sure is a pocket full of sunshine, ain't he?"

"Keep reading."

"He hates people who can't clean up after themselves. Or people with bad hygiene. He doesn't like art because he can't draw and it makes him frustrated to know he can't draw, so he's not going to praise other peoples' work because he feels like he's being mocked—_in other words he's a jealous loser that can't appreciate others success_—and, he doesn't like reptiles, especially lizards because they're creepy and no living thing should grow back body parts—_oh my God, _Mikasa. He has like another paragraph about his resentment against lizards. You were right. He's a serial killer."

"If you're not going to read it, then hand over the computer so I can do it myself."

Eren shielded the laptop protectively. Instead of reading, he started to skim through at one point, his eyes squinting from the strain."Uhhh...he doesn't like overly blunt people or people who purposely attract attention to themselves. He hates lazy people, gluttons, parents that don't shut their loud children up. At least he's not hating on kids—oh. Wait, never mind. It says he hates hyper kids and ones who ask too many questions...Jesus Christ this list is long. My heads starting to hurt." He pinched his brow and let his eyes close to escape the artificial glow of the screen. Leave it to Eren to get a headache from reading a few long paragraphs. And he wonders why he's already falling behind in his studies.

"Alright, just skip it. I get the idea." Admittedly, the match is overly pessimistic and finicky, but she couldn't exactly find anything_ false_ about what he listed. Even if she wouldn't write it down herself for others to see, she agreed on most of his dislikes—except for the reptile part, she likes them. But overall, this is the kind of the person she's searching for. Someone real that didn't just put on a fake smile and act like everything is sunny, and also someone who had the balls to tell everyone what they really thought.

"Moving on..." Eren said groggily as he scrolled past the list. "Says he grew up in the boonies on a farm, but now he resides in the downtown district of Sina City. Hey, that's a quick trip on the freeway away from us." Eren checked if Mikasa was paying attention, and even though she wore a bored expression she couldn't deny how absorbed she had become by this strangers profile.

"It also says he served in the military for eight years, but after sustaining an injury he was given honorable discharge. Now he's following his passion."

Mikasa perked up; fully invested now. That last amount of information revealed just added to the towering pile of interest she accumulated since first clicking the page. She craned her neck over Eren's shoulder and closer to the screen. "Does it say what he does for a living now?"

He clicked around until he found the career section. "He's a freelance writer for sports and fitness magazines. Fancy. It also says he aspires to publish a fiction novel someday." After reading that off, Eren leaned his head back at a crooked, uncomfortable-looking angle with his lips curling up at Mikasa. "Sooo? What do you think?"

Her brows twitched anxiously as she inhaled an exaggerated breath, her eyes landing everywhere but Eren because she knew she would be doomed the moment she looked at him. "I'll admit we have a few things in common and he seems... _interesting_, but he already seems way out of my league." Not only is it intimating that he's finicky and pessimistic, but he's also a veteran and a professional writer. She shrinks in comparison to him. He already accomplished so much and he probably wants a companion that accomplished the same level of achievements; that's only natural for someone his age. If Mikasa were in her thirties, she wouldn't settle for some fresh adult that just started college and had nothing to offer yet. Then again, she's beyond picky. He seems right up her alley in that respect, but that doesn't exactly work her favor right now.

"If he was _that much_ of a catch he wouldn't be on a dating website trying to find a girlfriend. No offense to you."

"Some taken."

Eren impatiently tossed his head at his unconvinced roommate and tried to assure her. "He's probably just a busy guy that can't find a girl that he has anything in common with. Either that or he can't find a girl that will put up with that impressive dislike-list of his."

Mikasa let out a tiny giggle, then let her gaze sway back to the bright screen and her lips returned to a firm line. She knew she didn't have much of a chance and it certainly isn't smart for her to get her hopes up. She tried to lie to herself with this thought: Reading his profile is way more entertaining than whatever is on television right now and she's definitely not interested in some faceless man on the internet.

That only convinced her briefly, though, than the reality that she _is _interested in him to some extent came wiggling back in her mind. Trying to swallow the insecurities, she distracted herself with asking something else she wanted to know about him. "What kind of music does he like?"

"Let's see..." Eren stroked the touch pad and searched the profile. "Well, he starts off by saying he hates pop music and stupid boybands like the five directions or whatever the hell they're called and that garbage called country. But he has a guilty pleasure for dubstep and hip-hop when he works-out, but generally he listens to grunge and indie rock."

"What a deal breaker. How can he hate pop? It's too catchy, everyone secretly hates to love pop."

"Not me. You have shit taste, Mikasa."

She scoffed, offended that her music taste was being ridiculed by a guy that listened to artists that literately just screamed at the microphone, recorded it and called it music. "Fine, then _you_ date him and talk about how much you hate Katy Perry and Avril Lavigne."

"Don't tempt me. That sounds like an awesome time." He warned as he skimmed over the profile. "Oh, and he's a Capricorn. Is that compatible with Aquarius?"

He's really getting too into this. "You believe in zodiacs?"

"I'm Googling it." Completely ignoring her, Eren opened up a new tab to type in his question. Not only does Eren believe in zodiacs, but he believes Google is a good source for information regarding love and compatibility. Okay, maybe Mikasa is guilty of asking Google some love questions too at one point, but had since learned how pointless that is.

"Yikes. I guess not."

"What did it say?"

He quoted: "'_This match is so ill-advised that it is practically over before it can even get started.'"_

Not believing an actual article would write that, she tilted in and read it for herself. When she made it to the end of the paragraph, she rolled her eyes at the negativity pointed at the match. "The author probably broke up with a Capricorn guy and vented through a horoscope."

"I don't know... Usually these things are pretty accurate. I checked it when you were dating Jean. Both of you are Aquarius and it said the relationship wouldn't last and you'd have a terrible sex life. On a scale to one-to-ten how accurate is that?"

"Eleven. I still say that site it full of shit though."

"Oh well, even if a relationship between a Capricorn and Aquarius isn't compatible, it'll just spice up your relationship."

"What relationship? I haven't even spoken to the guy yet."

Eren clicked back to the other tab and scrolled back up to the top of the profile, double-checking the status. It glowed green. "He's online," Eren gave a little carefree shrug. "Wanna say hello?"

Mikasa took longer to reply than she planned. "...Alright."

"Hmph," Eren nudged with a sneer, then mocked like a kindergartner, "You _like_ him~"

"He sounds a little too good to be true." Her eyes brightened with a tiny smile. How is it that a guy she has so much in common with and has a personality to her liking live so close and she never knew it? It really is a small world, or more realistically speaking there's probably a catch to all this. That's probably it. But maybe talking to him will help her feel him out for herself and know if there's a catch or if he's_ a catch_. "He seems to be my type, I'll admit. But I'm not expecting this to actually go anywhere."

"You won't know until you talk to him," Eren started tapping along the keyboard, but Mikasa reached over and smashed down the backspace button when she glanced at what he wrote. "He's a _writer. _You need to capitalize and use proper grammar."

"It's the internet, no one does that."

Eren is still as immature as the day she met him, meaning Eren still has the brain of a nine year old. Someone in his thirties probably wouldn't even understand half the text-slang Eren used. "Wait, why are _you_ even messaging him anyway?" She nudged him over with her hip and stole his spot in front of the computer. He pushed himself back up on the couch cushion and Mikasa felt his eyes right over her shoulder, staring at the blank white message box and the blinking line that intimidated her train of thought.

Her hands hovered over the keys, immobile, trying to think of something to say.

"Just ask what's up."

She disregarded his advice with little thought. She couldn't ask that—that's too vague and boring. The more she kept thinking about it—the more she came up blank, like every common greeting and introductory word vanished clean from her mind. There's a high possible chance she will make an ass out of herself or make a bad first impression. With all these things considered, she backed out like a coward. "I can't do this...I literally don't know what to say." But in all fairness, he's a faceless stranger on the internet that she quite literally just _stalked_. Of course she doesn't know what to say.

Eren sighed. "Figured." After stretching forward, he stole back the laptop and sat it in his lap, then smugly propped his feet up on the coffee table. "You were always awkward with chatting online. But that's to be expected from someone who hasn't logged into their Facebook account for two years. This is why I offered to do it for you," he cracked his knuckles. "How about I write it and you edit it how you like?"

"Fine." It wasn't that Mikasa was terrible with technology or socializing. Little to Eren's knowledge she did in fact have social networking profiles online he didn't know about, like her blog she actively updates. But it's much easier to talk to people on there where it's mostly anonymous. It's also effortless to find people she has common interest with through the tags, but everyone she met there lives scattered around the world and no where near her.

Usually she could type out a message to one of her online friends with no added brain effort. But now is different. There's something very daunting about not only putting her personal info out for display to be judged, but talking to a real guy that lived ten minutes away from her.

"How's this?" He swiveled around the screen and they exchanged the laptop between each other. She tried her best to read the harmless, yet cheesy message without cringing.

* * *

_**Subject: ** __Hello_

_I just read your profile and I think we have a lot in common. What's your name? __I hope we can chat soon. _:)

_-Mikasa_

* * *

"I'm deleting the smiley face."

"Oh, right. Heaven forbid you trick him into thinking you smile. Smart move."

She glared back at his condescending smirk. Not only is that message not her personality at all, but it sounded so pathetic and cliché, even for Eren. That's the best they could come up with right now, though. After re-reading (and cringing) a second time, she clicked send.

In the meantime of waiting for a reply, Eren clicked on the television and channel surfed until he committed to the late night line-up on Toonami. The sound of a generic shonen sword battle became the apartments soundtrack. Mikasa went over to the kitchen to grab herself another bottle of water from the fridge. She idled around the island counter for a while and let her head fall back as she swigged down a mouthful.

"He wrote back!" Eren announced with blasting vocals from the living room and she nearly _choked_ on her water. Not only is she surprised at how fast he replied, but she's surprised he wrote back to her at all. Before Mikasa even returned to the living room (with some added pep in her step), Eren was already reading out the reply. The flirtatious tone he put on made her want to strangle him.

* * *

_**RE: ** __Hello_

_Hi, I'm Levi. I just took a look at your profile. It seems we do have some things in common. We live pretty close. What gym do you go to?_

* * *

"Whoa~ho." Eren sang, trying to rile up a bashful nerve inside Mikasa. But she concealed it well and rolled her eyes at his obnoxious reaction as she flopped down on the couch, but really, her irritation was just a show to hide the fact that she's a little excited herself. So his name is Levi. That's one mystery solved. She said the name a few times in her head so she wouldn't forget it a minute later.

"_Levi _seems interested. Looks like you have someone to talk to about your boring exercise routine now."

Just as Eren began typing again, she yanked the laptop right out from under his hands. "Alright, thanks for getting me started but I got it from here."

"At least tell me what he says back."

"No, get lost."

"I just found you a _boyfriend_ and now you tell me to get lost?" Eren stood with a need for vengeance as he clenched his fist, feeling used and betrayed. His temper skyrocketed to the ceiling. She's sure the neighbors above them will leave another complaint on their door if he keeps this up. Mikasa didn't have the strength to remind Eren again that they weren't in a relationship and instead used that effort into typing a decent reply. She lightly kicked Eren away with the tip of her sock to grant herself privacy.

* * *

_**Re:** __ Hello_

_Until I find a better one, I workout at the __campus gym near my apartment. I'm trying to find a place_ _that has Krav Maga __classes, but I'm having no luck finding any. Where do you go?_

* * *

_**Re:** __Hello_

_Stohess Fitness, it's near Mall Maria. It has Krav Maga, __if you were wondering. Not a bad choice; that's one of my favorite combat techniques._ _The instructor there is brutal, just a heads up. Have you been in Sina City long?_

* * *

Mikasa works a block down from that mall, but she never knew there was a gym near by. That would be convenient for her daily workout before she clocks in for her shift. She made a mental note to check the gym out, then wrote out a reply, thanking him for his information. She explained how she recently came from the suburbs and moved to Sina City to live on campus. Levi spoke briefly about his time in the military and how he moved to Sina City after his discharge. Being doused in conversation for a decent about of time, Mikasa asked if he had an IM client for easier conversing. Shortly after exchanging usernames, they moved their conversation over to Skype. The sound of notification beeps and keys tapping became the new ambiance in the space.

**Levi: **Your profile wasn't really detailed. Mind if I ask a few things?

_12:36 AM_

**Mikasa: **Sure. What do you want to know?

_12:36 AM_

**Levi: **You said you're attending college. What are you studying? Do you work?

_12:37 AM_

**Mikasa: **I'm aiming for a career in the criminal justice field. I'm studying Liberal Arts and minoring in Health and Fitness.

_12:39 AM_

**Levi: **Not bad. That's an honorable career to pursue.

_12:40 AM_

**Mikasa: **But as of right now, I just started working part-time at Starbucks. And before you ask if I like it there so far, the answer is no.

_12:41 AM_

**Levi: **That bad?

_12:41 AM_

**Mikasa: **Yesterday there was a line out the door and a guy ordered a Frappé-whatever a mile long in speech. My coworkers were "missing" (aka making-out on the backroom). They're royal assholes, but they're probably the only ones keeping me sane there.

_12:43 AM_

**Levi: **You wouldn't happen to be talking about Ymir and Christa, right? I don't think I ever saw those two work for longer than 5 minutes a shift. And Ymir always fucks up my coffee. Every time. I think she secretly hates me. Does that place even know what plain black coffee is? She's always adding pumps of weird foamy shit to it.

_12:46 AM_

A held back laugh vibrated in her throat. So even customers notice how much they slack off. She moved her eyes up from the computer screen to glance at the TV to see what show Eren was watching—but it turns out the program didn't hold his attention at all. All this time he's been observing her from the other end of the couch. When they finally locked eyes, he wiggled his eyebrows at her with a flirty grin. She broke the gaze coyly as she tried not to smirk at the ridiculous face he made. Okay, she'll bite. Eren did something right for once. This guy is actually a breath of fresh air to talk to. She reset her fingers on the keys and quickly returned to their conversation.

**Mikasa: **That's them. Do you go there often? I wonder if I seen you without knowing it.

_12:55_ _AM_

**Levi: **Last time I went I only saw Ymir and Christa there, I guess you were hired afterward. I rarely go. Only when I need a setting change for writing, but most of the kids that place attracts doesn't make an ideal working atmosphere. But it does the trick when I'm desperate enough.

_12:59_ _AM_

That's right, she almost forgot. He's a writer. She had to know more about that. She asked him about the work he does.

**Levi: **I write a weekly column in the newspaper and I usually get a full-article gig once a month if I'm lucky for various sport, fitness and health magazines. I also run a blog, but it's not related to fitness. There's not really a theme. I just complain about whatever I want and people are tasteless enough to subscribe.

_1:07 AM_

After praising him for his impressive accomplishments, she went on to point out that dislike-list of his. When he mentioned he complains on his blog, she couldn't help but wonder how he has anything left to complain about after writing all that. Hell, if he can write all that on a _dating website_, she was a little scared to find out what he wrote on his personal blog.

**Levi:** That wall of text is hard to miss, huh? I just figured I'd be honest and let people get a good idea of who I am before messaging me. It really did a lot of good.

_1:16 AM_

**Mikasa:** Really? Did you get a lot of messages or something?

_1:16 AM_

**Levi:** Nope. Zero. Until tonight, of course. Just to add to how pathetic I sound, I've had the account for four months. Woe is me.

_1:17 AM_

**Levi:** But it worked out well because I saved myself the headache of talking to people I wouldn't get along with/have no interest in.

_1:17 AM_

Mikasa's fingers wouldn't type the sudden thought that popped in her head. Her hands just—_froze_. After giving herself a second to ponder the worse possible outcome, she finally tried to word out her thoughts.

**Mikasa: **I know it's really soon to ask, but, how can I put this...

_1:23 AM_

**Mikasa: **Do I give you a headache?

_1:23 AM_

**Mikasa:** I mean, no hard feelings if I'm annoying you.

_1:23 AM_

Levi didn't start typing right away—and then she wished she could backspace her words and erase all traces of them from his mind. It was kind of weird to ask after an hour of talking, but she just wanted to make sure she wasn't bothering him. She knows she still has her immature moments (albeit not as bad as her peers) because she's young and that's to be expected, but Levi's a decade older than her and he seems to have very low patience. She likes talking to him, but she needed to know if the feelings were mutual.

**Levi:** So far so good. I'm not even a little irritated. It's a miracle.

_1:30 AM_

The air she kept hostage in her lungs finally escaped with a puff. He moved her hands to the keyboard with the intention of writing out something witty to return to the casual mood they established prior, until the thought she had in mind abandoned her when she saw the little pencil scribbling, indicating that Levi was typing. It erased a few times, then he'd stop typing all together. She wasn't sure if he just hit his keyboard by accident or if he was trying to write an addition to his reply. She didn't want to interrupt his train of thought by typing. The pencil started to move again. She waited for him to finish and her breath halted when the long-awaited message revealed itself.

**Levi: **I really enjoy talking to you, Mikasa.

_1:37 AM_

A wave of pressure escaped her heart and flowed through her body when she read that. Seeing her typed name coming from him made her feel something she didn't quite understand. After the fluttery feeling faded, though, she felt utterly ridiculous. What was that all about? She barely knows this guy nor does she know what he looks like, yet she's getting all flustered at the first semi-sweet thing he says. She's really been single for far too long. At this rate she's going to get swept off her feet entirely too easy if she isn't careful.

After she recovered from his message, she replied back saying that she too enjoys talking to him. A half-hour of chatting went by, but they didn't land on a heavy topic due to the late hour. When she saw the time on one of Levi's replies saying _2:14 AM_, she let out a yawn as she massaged the developed kink in her neck. Mikasa heard her bed calling for her, and so she said her goodbyes to Levi with promises of talking soon.


	2. Friends and Foes

A voice beside Mikasa rung out, but it barely registered in her mind. All she could hear was the words she internally recited as she tapped them out on her screen. After a moment, her eyes eagerly traveled the line of reply.

"Mikasa!" She jolted at the call. "Hellooo? Anyone in there?"

The dazed girl flicked her head up when a hand waving in front of her tablet screen obstructed her view and broke her concentration. She received an instant head rush from abruptly ripping her gaze from the tablet screen she's been glued to for the past two hours.

Slowly turning her neck to her left, she set down the device on her lap and noticed Eren squinting an eye on her. She blinked dumbly at him.

"Yo, I asked you to get me a can of Pepsi like five times."

Rubbing her stained eyes, she propped her screen back up on her bent knees and sunk deeper into the cushions, showing just how eager she was to meet his demands. "Do I look like your slave? Get it yourself."

"I'm watching the game, you're not."

Moving her gaze up just for a second, she reminded herself that the game was actually on, but she hadn't checked the score in what felt like ages. Looks like the Titan's are winning again.

"What's got you so distracted, anyway?" Sitting diagonal to them on the recliner, Jean (also known as Mikasa's ex-boyfriend and Eren's friendly foe) curled his neck back lazily and wiggled his way into the conversation."You never miss the game. Who are you talking to?"

Peeved at his big horse nose trying to butt into her personal life, she coiled the other way in her seat, not that facing Eren was any better, but Jean proved to be more vocal once his interest is picked. "No one you know."

"Uh, who do _you_ know that _I_ don't know? Seriously, we all have the same friends here."

Ignoring him and trying to type out a reply, Mikasa became distracted once again at the crinkling of the potato chip bag in Eren's lap. He piled a handful of chips in his mouth, more landing in the crevices of the couch cushions than his mouth. He didn't bother swallowing and instead spit crumbs as he spoke. "She's talking to her new 'mature and sophisticated' boyfriend, Levi. It's been nonstop for the past week."

"_Boyfriend?!_" Jean erected from the couch with wobbly stance. Stomping in Mikasa's direction, he began flailing his arms as fast as his speech. "What the hell? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"Hey—you're up. Get me a Pepsi." Eren asked dully, caring less about Jean's riled state. Mikasa could care less too. She had no obligation to inform anyone about who she spoke to. If anything, she was offended he'd assume she can't make friends outside their clique. Unlike Jean, Eren and the rest of the crew, she had a desire to meet more diverse people. Only so long can she bare being around these contrasting personalities before she snaps. They're all good people—but sometimes it's nice to talk to someone more on her level. Someone like Levi.

Jean stood paralyzed with his mouth flapping like a half-dead fish and Mikasa only had to hear one more word to trigger a migraine, but Eren and that one track mind of his only had one concern. "Do you not understand human words, horse man? _P-e-p-s-i. _Fetch._" _Eren shooed him in the direction of the kitchen, but Jean merely returned the blandest, most unamused face he could muster at Eren. His expression was the official definition of _done_.

"Quiet numbskull, adults are talking." He shook off Eren's request and moved his attention back to Mikasa, unfortunately, and she curled her legs up like a shield to block the round of questions heading her way. "What's the deal? Who's this _Levi_ guy? I don't trust him, he seems fishy if he's not in our clique. I warned you that guys were going to start hitting on you left-and-right once you started college. Looks like you still fell in a trap already."

She had to set down her tablet for this. On her fingers, she pointed out everything wrong about Jean's claims. "First of all, I'm not entitled to tell you jack if I don't feel like it. Secondly, he's not my boyfriend. He's just a guy I talk to online, I haven't even met him yet. Thirdly, he's not a college student, he's a mature adult, so I didn't fall into any _"traps"_. Even if I did, that has nothing to do with you."

A mixture of resentment and displeasure dominated his face, like a mother looking at her rebellious teen. Mikasa grew bored of the judgmental stare and returned to her tablet.

"C'mooon Jeaaan." Eren whined and threw his head back like a toddler that wanted his sippy cup. Still not getting his friends attention, Eren threw a potato chip at him. It deflected off Jean's head and his attention popped back to Eren with knitted brows. "Gimme Pepsi."

Too bad the only member in their group of friends with any brains bailed on coming over for Monday Night Football tonight—Mikasa couldn't help but to wish the little peace maker was here. Armin tends to break up fights before they happen between Eren and Jean and he also has zero interest in sports, meaning he usually acts as Eren's personal butler and fetches all his snacks and beverages so Eren doesn't start throwing tantrums like this. That hospitality made Eren far too dependable on others waiting on him, though.

Jean threw his hands up and walked off. "Oh my fucking _God_, fine, but there's no promises I won't piss in it."

"Yeah, ha-ha. Good luck pissing in a closed can."

Just when Mikasa thought there would be a minute of peace until Jean returned, that nosy instigator spoke from the counter that barricaded the kitchen from the living room. "We're not done talking, Mikasa. I need to know more about this asshat."

"Um, no. Pretty sure we're done talking. You're lucky I told you what I did."

A grunt traveled in from the kitchen and soon the maker of such an unsatisfied sound returned with the glorious and long-awaited can of heavenly Pepsi Eren so eagerly reached out for—but Jean recoiled it teasingly toward his chest.

"What gives? Give it to me!"

"Say thank you."

"Thank you," Eren spat and Mikasa was honestly taken back from the gratitude. Jean rammed the can into his hand and Eren widened a devious grin and added, "for being my _bitch!_"

He drew back the tab with his finger, a hiss sound played out and when Mikasa heard the dire sound release from the can, she already knew it was too late to stop the rupture from flowing.

The Pepsi Eren so desperately wanted rained down; the fizzy carbonated beverage had skyrocketed like a broken fountain. The foamy spray not only drenched the couch, the carpet and Eren, but it drizzled on Mikasa as well and splashed over her screen.

"Are you _kidding me?_" Mikasa shouted, standing up to dodge the remaining bursts escaping the can. She screamed some more, but it couldn't be heard over the roaring laughter coming from Jean as he fell back into the recliner, weak with pleasure and clean from the downpour. As he held his chuckling gut, he kicked his feet like a tickled child.

Realizing now that this was done on _purpose_, she reached a lethal level of rage. "Jean! Do you have any idea how long this is going to take to clean up?!"

"So fucking worth it. Yeager's face was priceless." Breathless with laughter as he was, he barely made the words out.

Instead of punching him square in the face like she wanted, Mikasa constrained her wrath deep in her gut and stomped into the kitchen to collect the cleaning supplies for Jean, because she_ sure as hell_ isn't cleaning this mess up herself. She already spends too much time cleaning up after Eren like she's his mother away from home on a daily basis. Bless that woman for having the patience for him all these years; the least she could do is fill her spot while they're away studying, but she'll be damned if she has to clean up after Eren's friends too.

She dropped a number of cleaning products on the coffee table and flopped back to her spot on the couch with a paper towel in hand that she used to wipe the sugary droplets off her tablet screen. When she noticed Eren still boiling in silent rage and Jean still sitting with no intentions of cleaning, she pieced the air with a sharp, "Clean this up and get out, Jean."

A roar finally discharged from Eren, as if Jean's prank finally caught up with him. Eren has always been a bit slow. "There's going to be a bigger mess after I kill him!" Eren leaped from the couch and charged head-first and Jean stepped up for the challenge. Eren bumped his chest into him to share the mess between them, but Jean already won and a little stain on his shirt didn't matter. The taller man brushed Eren away with a grin, becoming even more satisfied as he watched Eren peel the drenched fabric way from his chest.

"You're buying me a new shirt! And giving me extra compensation because this just so happens to be my favorite!" Eren screamed through his teeth, his eyes revealing the death he wished upon his no-good friend.

"Okay first off all, you've been wearing that atrocious T-shirt since Middle School and I'm pretty sure its only been washed twice since then. Burn it already."

That migraine Mikasa tried so desperately to avoid came rushing into her like a bullet to the brain. "One of you clean this place up or I'll—"

But was she heard? No. Not over the bickering battle between two nimrods.

"Don't you _dare_ talk shit about my fashion sense, rich boy. Sorry I don't like pansy polo shirts and crappy cargo shorts."

"It's stylish, you swine. Not like you'd know what modern fashion is because you never leave the damn house. And let's not forget that the only new people you meet are naked men on the internet."

Jean got him there and Mikasa will silently commend him for that, but she knew that by him saying that the battle to the death was just declared. Even though the comeback was overused, it always worked on Eren because it's _true_. Back in High School during the tail end of her and Jean's relationship, he walked in on Eren jacking off on webcam with a random stranger on Omegle and he's never been able to let it go. Jean likes to remind Eren constantly, who to this day still says the man on cam (that Jean described as 'hairy and beefy') was a girl.

"Mother fucker! I'll kill you!" Despite Eren being smaller than Jean, he tackled him effortlessly right to the floor and the attack looked more professional than the football players on the television behind them.

Mikasa shook her head away from the redundant fist fight and returned to the conversation in her lap.

**Mikasa: **Sorry I'm taking forever to reply. My roommate has his buddy over for MNF and let's just say they're recreating the highlights and giving me aneurysms.

_8:13 PM_

**Levi:** You poor thing. It's no problem, though. What's the score, anyway? I'm too held up at the moment to check.

_8:14 PM_

**Mikasa:** The Titans are killing the Saints 34-13. It's a lousy game, you're not missing much. By the way, if you're busy I can let you go.

_8:16 PM_

**Levi:** No, I'm not busy. I'm just away from home at the moment. I'm discussing my next project with my editor and it's as boring as it sounds.

_8:18 PM_

**Mikasa:** Doesn't sound boring to me. Are you going to write another article?

_8:18 PM_

**Levi:** Yeah, it's not as interesting as it seems, though.

_8:19 PM_

As he waited for a reply, Levi reluctantly removed his gaze from his cellphone and let his eyes refocus from the small print by flitting his blinking sight around the restaurant. He's been here two hours already and the high-class atmosphere has long since become old. He finished his meal and two glasses of wine, but judging by the stacks of papers strewn across the table and his fussy editor engaged in work-mode sorting through said papers, he wouldn't be leaving any time soon.

And to make it worse, his ears were suddenly attacked by a commanding tone from across the table.

"Is it too greedy to ask you to play attention for longer than five minutes? You'll have to start working on this tomorrow and you need to understand all the points you have to cover."

"Write them down, I'll figure it out as I go." Levi reached for his glass and took a sip, trying to ignore the peeved blue eyes boring back at him. Erwin hasn't looked this fed-up since Levi had his early mid-life crisis.

"What's got your concentration all skewed? You're the type that always says you left your phone at home—now you're typing away on it like your life depends on it."

"I only tell _you_ that so I have an excuse why I didn't answer you."

Erwin's head rolled with a groan when the phone buzzed again, but the editor slipped in a reply before Levi could douse himself in his phone and tuned him out once again. "Levi, I'm serious. We have work to do."

And Levi was seriously annoyed, but instead cooled his twitching nerve by replying back to Mikasa, trying to hide the smile tugging at his lips. She sure does show a lot of interest in his writing, always asking questions and saying she'd like to read his work. He keeps holding it off and avoiding the subject of letting her read one of his articles, but perhaps one day he'll let her give them a read.

Erwin spoke the truth before, though. Levi never saw himself as one of those people that lived on their phone. In fact, he couldn't stand those people that tapped away on their cells in public, especially if they're with company. It's just rude and pathetic to be that dependent on technology and socializing. This peeve of his is proudly displayed on his dislike-list on his dating profile and also something he brought up quite often on his blog—but here he is, in public with a companion and a cellphone in his hand. Truly dishonorable but he's not even a little bit sorry.

"Who are you talking to anyway? Isabel, Farlan? There isn't an emergency, right?" Judging by the way he said it unaffectionately, Levi translated that as: 'It _better_ be an emergency.' Even if he actually was caught in the middle of a family crisis, that probably wouldn't be a good enough excuse for his workaholic friend and coworker.

The only reason Levi regarded his question and didn't ignore him like he has been for the past two hours was because Mikasa put him on hold, telling him that she needs to break up her friend's fight before one of them kills each other.

"No. And it's nothing serious. I'm just chatting with someone."

Erwin chuckled, unsurely, not knowing if a laugh would land him a punch in the face. It nearly did judging by the expression Levi made.

"Chatting? Okay." Erwin humored him and folded his arms, leaning back into the press of the booth. He pondered with a grin. "I know you would just turn your phone off or chuck it across the room if it were Hanji, so we could scratch that off the list. You already said it wasn't Isabel or Farlan—and you can't _possibly_ be chatting with an executive, because you'd never be that enthusiastic about scoring a job." Erwin expanded his arms and heaved up his shoulders. "I'm stumped. Completely. You win. Care to fill me in now?"

It's so annoying when he tries to figure situations out on his own like that. Given that Erwin looks more like a model than a retired Commander and present-day editor, Levi could safely say that the quirk is one of Erwin's worse (and probably only) flaws. But then again, battle strategizing and figuring out enemy motives used to be one of Erwin's strongest points back in their army days. Go figure. It's really no wonder why he can't let the habit go.

Most of the time Erwin's predictions are accurate as hell and he can't hide a thing from him. Levi never had a mother of his own, but knowing Erwin made him feel like he did with the way the man fiddles with his life and tries to involve himself constantly. And just like a mother, he had a knack for knowing when something was up.

But this time, Levi didn't give him enough of information to play with. That on it's own was a little satisfying. Erwin asking him to explain something to him for a change is a God-like feeling that will only come once a millennium.

But, that power he holds against him will be wasted because now that he's waiting for Mikasa to return and he doesn't want to be a responsible adult and focus on the job he landed, he'll use this topic as an excuse to waste more time until it hopefully reaches a late enough hour and they'll have to make-do with what they have.

"Alright, fine. I'll tell you. But God fucking help you if you laugh, I'll torture you horribly, _and_ I'll fire you."

"Why would I laugh? This actually sounds more serious than I thought." Erwin's brows sunk in concern, then let on in a whisper, "You aren't in any kind of trouble, right?"

Levi found that phrasing amusing and shook his head. It really depended on the definition of _trouble_ he was implying. He could honestly say that he is in a little bit of trouble because he's slowly but surely falling for a girl he's never met.

"I met a girl," he said quickly, then reluctantly added, "...on a dating website."

Erwin's lips started to slowly curl like the fucking Grinch and Levi's expression went soft to hard quicker than a provoked dick. "The _fuck_ did I just say?" Beneath the table, Levi's rammed the tip of his shoe into Erwin's shin despite being warned in the past that he can't be violent or curse in five star restaurants. But Levi gave zero fucks.

"Sorry, sorry." Erwin recovered from rubbing his aching shin, "I wasn't laughing, honestly. It's just—that's surprising. It's been, what, five-or-six years since you had a girlfriend?"

"Don't remind me." Another sip of wine later, Levi had his thoughts organized and his shoulders slumped. Keeping dull focus on the swishing wine in his glass as he rotated the stem, he propped his head in hand and told his long story short. "One day I woke up and realized I'm thirty and miserable and live alone. I sort of had a mid-life crisis and I refused to leave my bed, I'm sure you remember that splendid week. Then just to make myself feel better I signed up for a dating website, thinking that I might actually meet someone there because I'm shit at meeting new people in real life."

That's how it's always been; either he scares people away or doesn't try hard enough to meet new people, or let them into his life for that matter. Levi's been sticking with the same crowd of people for years and hasn't accumulated any spare acquaintances since. The number of people he was close to could be counted on one hand. He grew up with his foster brother and sister, Isabel and Farlan and met Erwin and his eccentric friend Hanji in the army. Other than a few friend-of-friends that he hung out with sometimes, like Mike and Moblit, he hasn't met anyone new.

Erwin hunched over the table, arms crossing and fully invested in the tale. "Ah, I do remember when I couldn't get you to leave your bedroom and you had three late articles due and I was left to defend myself against the angry printers. That was truly a nightmare. I still get flashbacks. You wouldn't tell me why you lost all motivation and I assumed you just had the blues or writers block. Makes a little more sense now. But for the record, you're still young, Levi. And you don't really live _alone _and you have friends that care about you. You don't _need_ a girlfriend to be happy but I'm glad you're putting yourself out in the field again. Good for you."

"Uh, Angel hardly counts as a _roommate_, Erwin. And my friends, like you, are annoying or weird. I don't know any girls that I relate to, neither have I met one I have chemistry with in recent memory. In all honesty, I'm really sick of being alone." Admitting that took more courage than he had, which was a lot. "You know I never gave a shit when I was younger about dating—but now that I'm older I just have this desire to start settling down with someone." To avoid Erwin's eyes piercing into him, he swished his wine glass around. "It sounds stupid but that's how I feel. I'm not looking to get married or have kids right now but I would like someone to come home to and give me company eventually; a girl that I actually have something in common with that doesn't annoy the living shit out of me."

A glisten sparked in Erwin's eyes and a delicate pull lifted at his lips. That disgusting, endearing look he gave him made Levi regret letting his lips loose. He cursed his wine for being the culprit. Erwin nudged his chin up and eyed Levi's phone. "And this girl meets all your requirements?"

"Believe it or not, yes. I literally have zero complaints about her so far."

Erwin let his head fall gently back in subtle shock, finally realizing how serious Levi was being, that he wasn't simply screwing around on his phone. "Oh, wow. You need to put a ring on her before she gets away. I don't think I've ever heard you say you had no complaints about anyone. Either you're getting sweeter in your old age our this girl is The One."

"It's hard to say if she's The One yet. I'm not even sure if we'd hit it off in person."

It's true, he really had nothing bad to say about Mikasa in this point in time. Never once has he caught himself rolling his eyes in boredom or sighing at something ridiculous said. The only part that made Levi doubtful about Mikasa is their age gap. When she first messaged him and he did a quick scan through her profile, he almost didn't write her back because of her age. He assumed she might be some preppy college bimbo that already exhausted all the matches in her area and was settling for him. But he gave her a whirl anyway and he's glad he didn't let his assumptions ruin his chance of meeting a wonderful girl.

She's still very young and has a lot to experience, yes, but in all honesty that doesn't bother him much now that he's got the gist of her personality. She's mature, to say the least and they have more things in common than he could list. But he's just afraid she might not be looking for the same type of relationship as him and that single thought is his one and only true doubt about this whole affair—or the affair it may become.

Levi has reached that point in his life where he really wants to settle down and stick with one person for the rest of his days, if possible. He's done with searching for a date and meaningless hook-ups; he has been for a long time. But Mikasa is just entering college, the time for experimenting and cutting loose and sleeping with a new person every night. As far as he could tell, she doesn't seem like that type at all, but anyone that young will want to see the whole menu before settling on an order.

Levi already tried everything and grew tired of it all. He just wants something stable and meaningful in his life. He doesn't know if Mikasa is the answer to his desires, but all he knows is he does like her and he'd be lying if he wasn't secretly hoping for the best outcome.

"So you haven't met her in person?"

Levi shook his head. "We just talk on Skype a lot. But we'll probably meet soon. She lives right on campus at Trost University so it's not like we'd have a long-distance relationship if we did get together. Even though I never met her I have a good feel for what she's all about, and like I said I have no current complaints. She doesn't even use _emoticons _or _text-slang_. Do you know how much that says about a person?"

"...Uh, no?" Erwin looked lost, then mimicked his question back to him, "What does using emoticons and text-slang say about a person?"

"Hanji and Isabel 'communicate' with me that way. How is the 'X' and 'D' face even a relevant response in any situation?" Levi didn't think he had to remind Erwin of the connection that made to their hyperactive personalities. Erwin nodded his head, understanding his drift now—even though he's a horrible offender himself by texting Levi with 'lol' and 'lmao' like he's a damn teenager texting for the first time on his mothers flip phone.

"How long have you been talking to her?"

"A little over a week. Doesn't seem like much but we chat throughout the whole evening every night. It's scary to say but I'm actually getting into a routine with her now."

"Hm. Well I'm glad you found someone you like, truly I am and I hope for the best between you two. But—if you talk to her that much, I think you can afford to break that routine to spare an hour from her and lend that time to me."

The phone vibrated on the table as Levi sent him a crushing gaze. He just poured his personal life out and Erwin still got his head invested in the job. Some things never changed. He was like this back in their days on the field too. He sent him a spiteful smirk before reading the new message.

**Mikasa:** I've returned from the battle unscathed. The situation is under control now.

_8:33 PM_

**Levi:** Welcome back, white knight. Are they really that bad? Sounds like you have your hands full with them.

_8:33 PM_

**Mikasa:** I'm used to it. They like to pretend they're not friends despite spending every day with each other. I've been splitting them up for too many years. It's basically mundane routine by now.

_8:35 PM_

**Levi:** I commend your bravery. Try to be careful though. A girl could get hurt getting between two guys roughhousing.

_8:36 PM_

**Mikasa: **Did you somehow forget that I'm a black belt and can bench 210lbs?

_8:36 PM_

**Levi: **Silly me. I somehow overlooked those little details. But anyway, hate to say this but I'll have to catch up with you later. My editor is going put me through the wringer if I don't get this meeting over with. Hopefully I'll be back around ten and we can talk then if you want.

_8:37 PM_

**Mikasa:** Sounds good. I'll talk to you later. Good luck with the rest of your meeting.

_8:38 PM_

After clicking send, Mikasa drew down the tab and set her status to _Away_. With a stretch, she lifted herself off the couch with the intention of heading into the shower. She told herself if she doesn't get her nightly routine over with now, then she'll end up holding it off until morning and talk to Levi until two am like she's been doing every night. That's something she needs to stop doing, even if it means sacrificing some time from her and Levi's conversations because she barely has enough of time to get ready in the morning as it is.

"Would you look at that, the spell has been broken and she has will of her own again. Did your boyfriend get sick of you already and dump you?" Jean teased, his eye skirted with a tint of purple from where Eren landed a punch on him. She hates to see Eren get violent, but that horse-face deserved that punch after all the drama he stirred up tonight and if he doesn't want a matching bruise on his other eye he really should quit while he's ahead.

"Didn't I tell you to go home, Jean?"

"Yeah, go home asshole. Don't ever come back." Eren sulked on the corner of the couch, nursing a few of his own bruises on his arms.

"Whatever," he peeled off the recliner with a huff and a wave. "I'll see you guys in class tomorrow." The moment Jeans's presences left, a weight lifted off Mikasa. Hopefully the treatment of the hot shower will relieve her remaining stress and remove the left over tension in her stiff muscles.

Ruffling her wet hair with a towel, Mikasa made a quick turn and entered her dark bedroom. Before she switched on the light, she saw her phone lit up and buzzing on her night stand. At first she assumed it was a Skype notification from Levi, but when she came closer and saw _One New Text Message_, she knew it could only be one person.

**{**_Mika~! Just got off work. Wanna hang & get some FroYo? I'm buying!_**}**

**{**_Sure, I'll meet you there. I really need to talk to you about something anyway._**}**

**{**_Is everything ok?_**}**

**{**_Better than okay. I'll see you soon._**}**

During her time in the shower she really looked forward to throwing on her pajamas, sliding into bed and watching crappy movies on Netflix while she complained about them with Levi. But a quick meet-up with Sasha didn't sound too terrible right now; not that she was really feeling up for frozen yogurt or walking down the block in this chilly weather, but she hasn't seen Sasha in a while and it would be nice to catch up. She's been adjusting to her new job, likewise regarding herself. Just talking to a girl in general would be a blessing after spending so much time with two bickering boys all day.

After stepping into her jeans, she threw on a thick copper-color jacket that reached her midsection and bordered her neck in her favorite red scarf. As she struggled to get her toes in her shoe, she leaned against the arch of her bedroom door and called out to Eren, who looked to be melted in with the couch as he watched cartoons intended for people half his age.

"I know you'll say no, but I'm going out with Sasha to get some frozen yogurt. Wanna come?"

"Nah." Eren scratched his exposed belly and let out a lazy yawn. That answer was to be expected. He had such a tiring, busy day of laying on the couch and eating.

"Alright, you know I always offer." She stepped across the living room and fixed her hair from afar in the mirror hanging over the couch. The moan that dispensed from Eren was worthy of a zombie as he shooed her away. That was Mikasa's cue to step out from blocking the television. "See ya later, Eren."

* * *

**Note: **Just a heads up, Eren's personality will progressively become more obnoxious as the story goes (in an adorable way). If he lived in our time and never went through any trauma, I picture him being a dumb lazy slob who likes unfunny memes and surfs 4chan all day and acts like a total ragetard. Best headcanon ever.


	3. FroYo and Plotting

Standing idle in the queue of Yogurtland, Mikasa sifted through her purse in search of her phone as her bubbly friend beside her drooled up at the menu, shivering her shoulders lustfully as she murmured the number of sugary flavors like a seductive chant beneath her breath.

Mikasa never believed in the ridiculous term '_foodgasm_' until the day she met Sasha back in high school. Food to her is what flamboyant boy band members are to preteen girls.

Every time she went out for a bite with her, Mikasa would cross her fingers and hope they didn't get thrown out (because on more than one occasions, they actually _have _been asked to leave restaurants for her behavior). Luckily, they were familiar with one of the tolerant employees here, but for their sake Mikasa hoped Sasha would contain her beastly cravings so they wouldn't have mop up her drool off the freshly gleaming tile. Most of the cleaning duties were already completed judging by the wet floor signs and lemony scent blocking the smells of dry fruit and sugar—it's that late hour of the night where most tasks are already complete, but Mikasa feared the yogurt shop would look like it fell victim to an elementary food fight by the time they took their leave. She'd hate if her busy friend had to stay late to clean up for a second time.

"S...So many combinations..."

"Sasha. Remember that time we discussed self control?"

"Of _course _I do. I was eating a sack of seasoned potato wedgies and they tasted _amazing_."

Mikasa's going out on a whim here, but she assumed Sasha didn't hear a single word she said over all her chewing, slurping and moaning that day: the effects of the foodgasm were much more severe then, now that she recalled. Tonight isn't so bad in comparison.

By the time they were next to be served, Mikasa finally fished out the phone out from her cluttered bag and checked if she had a new notification from Levi (she didn't, sadly). While returning her phone and swinging the strap back over her shoulder, she noticed that a swarm of customers were starting to expose fretful stares at her friend, who looked about to jump over the counter and devour all the tubs of yogurt like a wild bear—and that was far from a stretch; she really would do exactly that. Mikasa has witnessed these feeding frenzies for herself many times over the years and it was more nerve-wreaking than watching a cheetah take down an antelope on an Animal Planet documentary. The aftermath was always just as devastating and messy.

"Can you not." Mikasa whispered in warning.

Sasha, seemingly in a hunting mode fiercely hissed when Mikasa startled her with a bump in the arm in hopes of knocking her back to reality, but that just triggered her animalistic side more.

Honestly, she's a normal girl, really, but put her around food and she'll turn into a hungry beast that hasn't eaten in days. When she's in starvation mode (it roughly comes around every hour) her bite becomes as fierce as a python during its weekly feeding session.

"I can't help it! There's so many choices, I want them all!" And Mikasa is pretty sure she could actually sit here all night and guttle the shops entire supplies if given the funds and time to do so.

After they decided on what to order, the two girls waved down the employee, who seemed to be working the shift solo and trying her best to multitask between making orders and taking them. Seemingly out of breath, the girl sporting pigtails approached the counter, readying her hands of the register and forced out the last remaining drops of enthusiasm she could spare.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, guys. It's a busy night. All the kids always rush in here an hour before we close."

"No problem. How've you been, Mina?" Mikasa asked, returning the girls contagious smile.

"Long time no see!" Sasha lit up with a peppy wave. "Everything good?"

"Pretty swell, but this job is taking its toll on me. We really need to find more people for this shift. We're so short handed." Mina closed her eyes to reward herself with momentously rest and caught her breath. She looks as if she hasn't caught a break since her shift began.

Looks like Mikasa isn't the only one who landed a cruddy job. The only difference is her job at Starbucks isn't understaffed; the employees are there and accounted for—but they're about as helpful as Eren contributing to the house chores. Her coworkers are just impressively lazy—well, one of them are, the other is just easily manipulated by her laid back girlfriend.

"You two wouldn't happen to know anyone that needs a job, right?" Mina passed off the hint lightly with a giggle, but the question sounded more like a desperate plea than a casual question.

"Oh, oh!" Sasha rose her hand and Mikasa had the urge to remind her she wasn't in class. "Connie's looking for a job! Say, if he gets a job here, could his bestfriend get discounts?" Stealthy, she hunched over and blocked her cunning pitch with the side of her hand. "We can totally keep it on the DL, just saying."

"Um..." A sweat drop slid down Mina's cheek at the pressuring question. The girl chuckled uncertainly and put her down easy. "I don't think so... but please let him know there's a position available, we could really use his help."

"Will do! I'll text him now," she whipped out her cell from her jacket pocket and nudged Mikasa with an elbow. "You can go ahead and order before me so we don't keep up the line."

Mikasa was surprised by Sasha's observation because she just now noticed for herself the string of people that had lined up behind them. She turned back to face her very nervous friend gazing over her shoulder at all the people she had to tend to before the shop closed.

Holding her weight on the counter, Mikasa double checked the menu to be sure she ordered the right one. "I'll have the Dragon Passion Tart. ...Does that come in fat-free?"

"Psh!" Sasha spat as her thumbs typed on her phone. "You're already in amazing shape, you can afford to eat some fat."

"I won't be for long if I keep eating junk. We can't all have a great metabolism like you."

"Hehe."

"Most of the fruit yogurt here is fat-free, so no worries." Mina assured.

Sasha exchanged her phone for her wallet from her purse, "Connie's at the library studying with Armin at the moment, but his head is about to explode so he's heading over here before the shop closes. Is that cool?"

"That's great!" The girl cheered. At least she got a little mood boost before taking on the hungry hoard behind them. "I'm glad to hear he's interested. I'll give him my bosses number when he gets here. So what could I get you, Sasha?"

What couldn't you get her was a more effective question to ask. Sasha started voicing her order, that became longer than a speech in lecture hall as she adding a string of toppings to her plain yogurt likes M&Ms, cookie dough, and brownie bites, completely neglecting the fact that yogurt is suppose to be somewhat _healthy_. The customers started to grumble impatiently and Mina had that panicked look in her eyes again as her memory was being tested while she desperately tried to retain the entirely of the order. Now that Sasha is becoming a regular here, they really should enforce a topping-limit for everyone's sake.

Knowing her order would take a while, Mikasa left with intentions of saving a free seat before the crowd of students piling in gobbled them all up. All the good seats by the window were taken by rowdy students unwinding after a long day of studying, but thankfully she secured a four-seated table in the middle on the shop. It was better than resorting to the icy seats outside; frozen yogurt could only be enjoyed inside here with the heat roaring though vents, not outside in the peek of December with light flurries dusting in your face.

Just as Mikasa looked back to see how much longer she'd take, Sasha was headed for the table, carefully nursing Mikasa's Dragon Passion and her own towering mountain of sweets topping her unseen yogurts in the cup. She staggered awkwardly to keep the heap balanced enough not to lose a single M&M on the way and Mikasa couldn't help but wonder how much all those extra added toppings cost.

It's a good thing Sasha has a job now so she could afford her outstanding food bill. Mikasa could still hear her desperate cries when she had to eat microwaved Top Ramen for breakfast, lunch and dinner during her first few weeks of college. Mikasa felt pity for her and would drop her off some fast food and bags of potato chips when she could just so the girl would quit questioning the meaning of life without tasty food anymore.

Sasha couldn't even wait until she sat down to start digging in sloppily, licking the yogurt that melted down on her fingers from the plastic spoon. Her shoulders shivered from a zestful chill as her eyes rolled heavenward with satisfaction. In the blink of an eye, she already dug out and consumed half of the cups portion.

The shop blared with energetic chatter and the speakers set on the walls played the local college radio station. The duo DJ's often played the Top 40 with no commercial breaks; only goofing around and taking calls ensued between songs. After a few weeks of hearing the broadcasts nearly everywhere, Mikasa soon became fond of the station and found herself actually using her car radio for the first time since she got it.

Currently, they were giving a run down of current events going on around campus; nothing of importance but they were charismatically gifted enough to make even boring topics sound interesting— _they _mainly referring to _Armored-Bro_—the talkative DJ with a friendly vibe in his tone that does most of the talking on the show.

The other host, who goes by the name _Colossal-D _(one could only _wonder_ where that name came from), shies away from the mic often times, but Mikasa enjoyed a few of the interviews he did with local bands and he seems to be a perfect target for his co-host that loves to ruffle his feathers with double entendres and teasing, which always gives the listeners a laugh. They're total opposites, but they seem to have a close bond and when they're live on the air they almost feed off each others energy.

She heard their nicknames were created among each other for fun and the audience stuck to the alias's after a while, but they had yet to reveal their true identities. She figured they don't want to reveal their real names and become local celebrities on campus, which is understandable because from bookworms to stoners and even dropout that pollute the outskirts of Trost University, everyone tunes in for their show and the DJ's are immensely loved.

The late night shows on the weekends are, plainly put, _hilarious_. At this point it's practically school tradition for the students to drop everything and emerge themselves in the show. Nearly everyone on campus tunes in and calls for requests or to answer pop culture trivia. But as the hours pass, the rating of the show boosts up quite a bit as the callers get drunker and more daring.

Mikasa never summoned enough courage to call up the show herself, but a few weekends ago, her and Sasha, along with the rest of their flock were hanging together back at her and Eren's place and Sasha had the brilliant idea of ordering pizza. Fun fact: The radio station and Domino's is only a number apart and she ended up making an ass out of herself live on the air. Now the DJ's have her voice recognize and refer to her as Pizza Girl every time she calls in for a song request. Needlessness to say, Sasha makes sure to double check the numbers she inputs from now on.

"It's good that Connie might get a job here." Sasha said as she marveled her sight around the shop like a first-time tourist at an exotic location. She really loves this place—let's leave it at that.

"Well if he does get hired here, try not to goof off too much when you come in."

"Hey, I'm a responsible adult now, you know!" She confidently declared with spots of chocolate on her cheeks and a layer of yogurt skirting her mouth.

Mikasa nodded incredulously. "Speaking of which, how's your new job?"

After licking the remaining bits of creme from her lips, she threw her head back with a gravely sigh. "Ugh, waiting tables is _hard_." She punched the kink in her shoulder, appearing completely exhausted all of a sudden. "I make great tips though and my bosses are friendly. The cook there is the sweetest. Her and I pig out at the end of the night on all the leftovers for free. My other owner is more of a strict smart-ass, but overall he's been such a understanding sweetheart with most of my amateur mistakes. So far I love it."

"That's good to hear."

"What about you? Getting the hang of making coffee at the Hipster Hangout?"

"Please don't call it that." Just the mention of coffee triggered a war-like flashbacks to surface. "I was never much of a coffee drinker to begin with so all these combinations are a headache to remember, but when it's not rush hour it's not too bad. The people I work with aren't too terrible either, but I wish they helped out a bit more."

"You'll get used to it. Just you wait, you'll be making _Frappé-Mocha-Latte's_ like a pro in no time!"

Mikasa had literally no desire to become a professional at such a thing. This job is only temporary to aid in some expenses her allowance from her parents and Eren's don't cover. Her parents had put down the down payment of their apartment and paid the utility bills and Carla and Grisha were to kind enough to pay their monthly rent. The rest of the money they lent them went to books and food, but of course no amount of money is enough for a struggling college student.

As much as she hates her job, Mikasa is just grateful to have one at all and is hoping she'll get more hours eventually. At the very least, she'd like to take over some of the bills and remove a little weight from their parents since they've already done plenty. They wouldn't need their help at all if Eren just got off his lazy ass and got a job, but that's unlikely so they'll probably end up mooching off them for the entirety of their college lives.

"So what else is new?" Sasha wondered. "Besides the job, I mean."

Absentmindedly, Mikasa kept her eyes on the plastic spoon stirring around her barely-touched cup. "Same old."

"Hm?" Sasha tilted her head with beady eyes that blinked curiously. "Didn't your text say you needed to talk to me about something? It sounded important."

The rotating motion came to a sudden stop. That's right—when she knew she was meeting up with Sasha, the first thought that popped in her mind was to tell her all about Levi and how utterly _perfect_ he is: only a natural reaction to have with a bestfriend—but now that she's seated in front of her she felt a little daunted about just saying that outright it in person.

"Right... I _want_ to tell you, but..." she dragged on suspense unintentionally, not wanting to go and blur out something so embarrassing.

"C'mon! Tell me tell me tell me!" Sasha bounced in her seat impatiently, cheering to motivate her.

The way Sasha begged took her back to her high school days, back in the cafeteria when she first told her that she was dating Jean. Mikasa only hoped that whatever is starting between Levi and her wouldn't end the same way it did with him.

"...I met a guy."

Of course, right on cue with Mikasa's confession, Sasha piled in a mouthful—and she nearly spit it out from shouting, "_What?!_"

Mikasa sank low in her chair, for Sasha had drew all attention in the room to them; the eyes on her made her flush. She kept her voice low, hoping Sasha would follow with the same tone. "Well, I haven't really _met_ him yet, we met online."

"Whoa, wait. Back up." Sasha placed down her spoon and that on its own made Mikasa more shocked than her friend. "We didn't talk in a week and you suddenly meet _a_ _guy?_"

This reaction of hers wasn't anticipated—but in all fairness, Mikasa ought to learn how to add a prelude before bluntly spoiling the conclusion. She'd never been much of a story teller, though.

When Mikasa didn't give in for a confirmation, Sasha pleaded, "Don't go all quiet now! Tell me about him!"

Without realizing, her finger had started to loop around a loose string of hair as she thought of the faceless man. "His name is Levi—I'm not sure what I could say..." she had _plenty _to say, but if she started she might not stop and the last thing she wants is to come off as a snobby girl bragging about a guy—a guy she barely knew. That would just be downright pathetic, but she's starting to realize it's a little too late to dodge feeling that way since she had already accidentally become attached to the stranger in a short amount of time.

Sasha groaned with a neck roll. "Just tell me what he likes—anything!"

"Fine." She revealed a tiny smile and the following came out with little effort. "He's a writer, a veteran and likes fitness, sports, fighting and health, just like me."

"...Whoa. Okay," Sasha's mouth had unhinged and she pressed her palms against the table in shock, sucking in breath. "Was _not _expecting that introduction. He seems...Wow. But please, go on!" She urged, both hands now holding up her blushing cheeks. "What's he like?"

She looked around the shop for inspiration as she searched for the perfect word to describe Levi. "He's...unique." Mikasa couldn't hold back the smile begging to be released any longer. "Quaint is also a perfect word to describe him. Very intelligent. Funny, but not in an over-the-top kind of way. You can tell he's not trying to make a joke; snarkiness is just apart of his natural personality. I really like that about him."

"Hm, I see." Sasha leaned in, humming a cheery tune. "By the way, you're blushing, Mika~"

Not-so-discreetly, she lifted her scarf up to conceal the heat and pout displaying boldly on her face. "Am not. It's just hot in here."

"Sure." Sasha played along, fanning herself off from heat exhaustion, but the action suddenly stopped when she snapped a finger at her like a judge giving a verdict. "Or maybe _Levi _is just too hot for you." She winked and her shoulders rattled with a giggle at the face Mikasa made. "Is he cute?"

"I don't know what he looks like yet, " she mumbled disappointingly, her eyes straying. "But now that I got to know him, I don't really care what he looks like as long as his online personality shifts over well in the real world. I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm _really curious_ about his appearance though."

"You guys should meet up!"

That's an obvious solution to Mikasa's dilemma, but it's not that simple. "We've only been talking a week. Isn't that too soon? He hasn't gave any hints saying he wanted to meet and I don't want to insist and make him uncomfortable."

"Does he live around here? Maybe you can subtly bump into him, you know, '_by chance'_." She air quoted and squinted side-to-side like a villain conducting a mastermind plot.

"How could I do that without asking him out directly? I'd have no idea where to find him." Then it hit her. Sasha's wording inspired an idea, not that she's sure she'd go through with it yet. "Well... he does go to a gym near my job. I wonder if I could fish him out of the crowd somehow." It would be less pressuring on both of them if they _just-so-happened_ to run into each other in public instead of asking, because at this point neither of them probably want to be too direct, it's just not their personalities.

"You should totally try that! It can't hurt—besides, you said he's _unique_, so if you idle around long enough he's bound to stand out to you. Do you know the rough timeslot he goes?"

"Usually the mornings." She lowered her voice some, naïve concern on her face. "Isn't that kind of..._stalking_, though? I don't want him to think I went there just to find him. That's kind of creepy." But then she remembered that she's been dying to check out Stohess Fitness. Based on Levi's description, it seems like a great place to work-out with plenty of activities and equipment to make exercising fresh and exciting. Not to mention it's supposedly packed with a friendly community of helpful and energetic people. "But honestly I want to check out the gym for myself, not just to find him."

"Yeah yeah, whatever helps you reach your goal, creeper." Sasha bit her spoon to contain her excitement. "If I were you, I'd go for it. The worse that could happen is you don't find him or miss him by a few minutes. It's worth a shot. Even if you figure out who he is and don't approach him, at least you can put a face to the messages while you continue getting to know him online. Then you can officially meet when you both feel you're ready."

Her convincing was about as tempting as the Birthday Batter yogurt she's been eyeing up since she walked in. When Sasha is freshly fed with brain food, she becomes rather smart—but little did Mikasa know, this idea would later backfire and be marked as a horrible mistake.

The bell on the shops door chimed when it swished open, letting in a frozen chill that blew the back of Mikasa's hair. She barely noticed but Sasha hopped in her seat, waving for the attention of the new walk-in. "Connie~! Over here!"

Mikasa twisted around in her seat and gave the lost looking a boy a wave as well to help guide him further through the crowded shop. The girls took the role of air traffic control while they tried to direct the dimwitted pilot who just obtained their flying license. Finally spotting them, he flicked his chin in acknowledgment and plodded over.

"So. Armin's a manipulative little shit," he greeted them with that great conversation opener as he helped himself to a seat at their table, pulling the chair and falling into the seat with an agitated attitude.

"We kind of agreed on this years ago, but what has he done this time?" Mikasa wondered.

Connie squinted with a cringe and allowed his eyes to close. He was either beyond tired or adjusting to the brightness of the shop was too much strain. "He's a great tutor, don't get me wrong, but he's practically a slave driver. He guilt-tripped me into staying an extra five hours at the library today. Five. _Five!_" He groaned disgustedly. "I understand studying overtime but that's a little extreme. My head is killing me from reading so much."

With concern on her face, Sasha pat his buzzed head like a Pomeranian after its been neutered. "Poor thing. You just need some froyo—freezing that head of yours oughta cut off all activity and make you feel like yourself again."

Connie curled his lip at her. "Is there any left, you cow?"

"Plenty." Sasha scooped from her cup of yogurt and lunged the spoon forward, slicing through his lips before he could protest.

Now that Connie is busy choking, this might be Mikasa's time to get a word in between these two. "I assumed Armin was coming with you, is he _still_ at the library?"

Connie beat in his chest to settle the remaining coughs, then draped an arm over the backrest. "I tried to steal him away from that depressing place, but he said he needs to cram for another hour or two. He's off his game from being over-worked, which is probably why I managed to escape. I don't know where that kid holds all that information."

"Well most functioning humans have brains to store knowledge, I wouldn't expect you to understand, Connie." Sasha teased.

"Do you want another spanking?!"

Mikasa isn't even going to question that threat. In fact, she choose not to question their relationship at all a _long_ time and decided to look the other way all these years while passing off their friendship as normal, despite the fact that it isn't. At all. But one thing she's sure of is what they have together is special.

These two must have been best friends in many past lives to have developed the close bond they have now. They have their moments, like now where they tease and bicker, but she never saw two people so in sync with each other before.

Connie and Sasha met back in high school and Mikasa still remembers the screeching of sneakers and echoing shouts in the school gymnasium. That day had been the kickoff cause to the effect. Sasha had been caught eating during class (typical) and the coach gave her a rough licking before sending her off to run laps for the rest of the period. Exhausted, she had collapsed and Mikasa was the one to pick her up and transported her to the nurse station.

A rebellious boy with a buzz cut and an over-size leather jacket had been sitting in a chair with folded arms when they arrived, with a mug on his face that suggested he had a million other better places to be. He was in there getting his cuts bandaged up after getting in a brawl in the parking lot with a couple of other hoodlums.

Connie was such a wanna-be delinquent back then; tough guy with a face of a sweetheart and too caring for his own good. That reputation of a bully he tried building up for himself was completely abandoned when he met Sasha, though. It was like he found the calling in life when he met her.

They hit it off immediately while the nurses took care of them and by the time the last bell of the day rang out, they were bestfriends and practically skipped side by side off to the arcade down the street.

They started off as high school buddies skipping class to attend unassigned lunch periods and now they're college pals that haven't changes a bit—except they exchanged some of their old hobbies for bongs and an obsession with comic books now. Mikasa had a feeling that the two of them will be old and gray one day and will still be goofing off, playing pranks on each other and pulling each others fingers for the giggles.

"By the way," Connie leaned back with his eyes on Mikasa. "I tried calling Eren on the way here to check in—is that kid alright? I couldn't help but to get the impression that he's...like..._on crack_."

"Oh, Christ. He's not on crack, Connie. Really, he's been like this for a few years, it's nothing new—it's just he could be more open now that he's out of his parents house."

Connie scratched at his buzzed head, confused by her phrasing. "Yeah I guess... but I can't get him out of the house. I thought he was just ditching me but I think it's more than that."

"It's not just you, trust me. He never goes anywhere with me either. I don't know why he's become such a hermit. He barely even makes it to class." And when he does he doesn't even bother dressing properly or taking a shower. Professor Pixis is getting tired of him coming in late with just his stained PJ's and Mikasa is sure the students who sit behind him don't appreciate him browsing porn on his laptop during class—especially when his headphone jack occasionally rips out and the classroom ambiance resembles a cheap whore house.

This happened three times already and Eren hasn't ever shown a morsel of shame about it. Usually he continues to boredly watch the smut that Mikasa's debit card paid for until either she or the Professor snaps him out of the trance. Only then would he give any reaction. Then he actually has the gall to act _surprised _when one of them confiscates his computer.

Connie, now recovered from his fatigue from studying, powered up with a sudden burst of energy. "This is _college_; the time for going out, meeting people and having fun! What's his deal? That kid needs to get laid, that oughta snap him into maturity."

"I highly doubt that will solve his problems." In fact, it would probably make things worse because Eren will likely confuse reality as usual and think it's perfectly natural to perform taboo sex acts on a partner like in one of those sick hentai shows he's always watching. Either that or he'd irresponsibly get a girl pregnant—but let's face facts, that isn't likely: Eren is so bicurious that he's practically gay enough to steal the spotlight from Kurt Hummel and force him into a dull corner of the stage.

However obvious Eren's sexual interest in the same sex may be, he's the only one who doesn't quite grasp the concept of openly admitting he's gay, or even bisexual for that matter. Eren says some crazy things sometimes, but him playing the role as a heterosexual (or a "_ladies man_", as he likes to dub himself as) is by far the most extreme case of delusion she has ever witnessed.

"But dating someone smart and responsible might straighten him out. They always say that love can change a person for the better!" Sasha optimistically added and Mikasa admittedly liked the idea of Eren going steady with someone, but the guy barely knows how to take care of _himself_, never mind feeding another person emotional support. Any partner he would land would either need to be extremely tolerant (or desperate) or someone who isn't afraid to call him out on his shit and whip him into shape. Mikasa hoped for the latter.

"Hm. That _ideal person _Sasha described sounds awfully familiar." Connie folded his arms and narrowly eyed Mikasa. "I'll never understand why the two of you never hit it off."

Mikasa couldn't even pretend to be surprised. "Really. You don't understand why I don't want to date some perverted, immature guy with anger management issues that rarely showers or leaves the house and screams at ten year olds while playing video games? Yeah, _real shocker_, Connie."

He swat the air in dismissal. "You know what I mean. You've been with him since the dawn of time and you're the only one that can put up with his shit longer than a few hours."

"That's because I love the kid, flaws and all. But that doesn't mean I have the patience to date him." Besides, he's like a little brother to her, despite them being the same age and not blood related at all.

"Yeah Connie, they'd never work out. Besides, I'm sure Mikasa's _boyfriend_ wouldn't appreciate that, heh~" Propping her chin on her knuckles, Sasha shot her a flirtatious glare across the table, wiggling her brows with a dreamy look in her eyes.

Mikasa crossed her legs beneath the table with a redundant sigh. "He's _not _my boyfriend, big mouth."

She couldn't summon the energy to get riled up at the accusation. Nearly everyone of importance knew about Levi by now—including _Jean_ and she never planed on Jean knowing a damn thing about her love life, or lack for of. Even Armin knew, courtesy of Eren's blabber mouth. Connie knowing too was just a little added dent in her personal wall she formed.

"So you're interested in someone, huh? Please tell me it's not another horse this time, do yourself a favor an upgrade to a majestic unicorn."

A thunderous crack of vocals bolted from Sasha, slapping a knee and encouraging Connie, who turned smug from the well-received feedback on his _hilarious_ joke—but he didn't get a peep of amusement from Mikasa. She simply scowled.

She's guilty of using a horse joke every once in a while, but herself and Jean are literally the only ones in their group that are sick to death of the overused, childish insults. The jokes need to die and go back to the pit of hell in which they came already.

Wiping a tear, Sasha recovered from the burst of amusement. "Actually, in all seriousness I think Mikasa landed a good catch. He seems perfect for her. By the way, does Eren know about him yet?"

"Yeah. He's the one who found him for me—he made me a profile on a dating website." It made her cringe to admit. "I was skeptical at first but Levi and I really hit it off. I'm glad I went through with it."

Connie heaved his head back, dazed like he doubted the reality around him. "Whoa, trippy—I feel like I just stepped into TV land and got trapped in some eHarmony commerical. Next you'll be slow dancing with this Levi guy as an old guy monologues over you, saying to sign up for free today."

Sasha cracked the air with another laugh and Mikasa bit the inside of her cheek, irritated by the pair of idiots. "If only there where websites for finding better friends."

"Oh, burn!" Sasha smacked the table, but her snickering expression popped off suddenly. "...Wait, you're not referring to me too, right Mika?" When she didn't answer, Sasha gripped the table and thrusted herself forward desperately with tears building up. "Right?! Righ—_hmp!?_"

"Oh quiet you." In a flash Mikasa inserted her spoonful of Dragon Passion into the girls mouth, the flavor soothing her faster than a baby sucking on a bottle of warm milk.

The three of them continued talking among each other about school and assignments. Connie had a talk with Mina and snagged the bosses number to schedule an interview, and he was thrilled to know he was practically guaranteed for the job.

When they left the warmness of shop and entered the shower of light flurries, Sasha and Connie invited Mikasa to grab a bite to eat at the diner with them, but she didn't have the stomach (nor metabolism) to go restaurant-hoping with them tonight. She secretly bet to herself that they would be having at least their third dinner of the evening and the portions could probably feed a small country. Having said that, she had no desire to tag along and watch that display. She declined with promises of texting them later and they branched off in different directions.

Mikasa headed in the direction of home, walking along the narrow pavement. The town became quite desolate suddenly in spite of this being a wild college area and it's still technically early in student standards. Everyone must be inside where it's warm, sheltered from this cold—she wish she had done the same and brought her car, but since she figured she could use the extra cardio.

Light flickered in from the streetlamps peeking through the bare dead branches caving over the trail, which created interesting shadow patterns around her shoes. During the time in the shop it had started to lightly snow and now the concrete dusted with a light layer of icy fuzz. Hot breath turned to seeping fog, but with a quick adjustment of her scarf, her face felt significantly warmer. She passed the campus shops closing down for the night, only a few window washers and employees counting their draws remained inside. The lights of the stores practically shut off in sync with her steps.

She passed by the clothing boutique downstairs of her apartment and looked at the mannequins dressed in fashionable winter attire; the type of clothes that were appropriate for the season and for the rich kids on campus that had a need to make a statement.

She broke her wistful stare from the display, but came to the conclusion that she really should buy some new clothes—she hasn't been shopping in a while and she should start fresh with a new wardrobe, but she always considered her sense of fashion to be lacking, making clothes shopping a miserable experience.

Everything buys either doesn't suit her or looks too over-the-top and ends up collecting dust in her closet. Often enough, she'll get the desire like any normal girl to shop for new clothes, but ends up sticking to her old, comfortable wardrobe for as long as she possibly could. If they never got worn from the wash or shrunk, she'd never buy new clothes; that's just the kind of girl she is, that and she gets too attached to certain outfits and accessories; like the scarf Eren gave her on her first trip to America. Being the carefree child she was back then, she forgot to pack anything warm to wear. A sudden gust of icy breath animated her hair as she recalled—it was around this time that she met Eren all those years ago.

Deciding that clothes shopping should be the last thing on her mind, she made a sharp left into the narrow ally and climbed up the stairs with a dim smile. Eren was more or less the same back then as he is now, (as in, he's still the same loud, obnoxious brat) but he was much more daring and adventurous as a child. Him and Armin would go on and on about their plans to travel the world someday—but along the way, he misplaced that impetus light of his somewhere during his teen years. The go-getter she once admired suddenly lost all his drive and even though she tries to pretend the sudden switch in his persona doesn't bother her, she can't help but to miss the old Eren sometimes, the Eren that used to dream and never gave up and motivated her through the hardest days. She suspects it has something to do with him dealing with more and more pressure with each passing year. Entering the real world and becoming an adult is a scary, inescapable fate and he might be trying to stretch out his glory years a little longer.

Maybe Sasha was right—if Eren can find himself a good partner, maybe he'll change for the better or find himself again. She'll never abandon hope for him—she knows he'll come around someday.

The moment she reached her floor, a blaring noise assaulted her ears and the sound wave was almost strong enough to send her flying in reverse off the top step of the stairs. The ringing roared through the hall, so loud in fact that her upstairs neighbor who absolutely _loathes_ her and Eren with a passion has come down for a visit, arriving to the floor almost in sync with her from the opposite stair well.

The man stretched out his arm, thrusting a scolding finger at her the moment his threatening gaze found her. She slouched in preparation of the impending lecture heading her way, because if Mr. Woerman heard the sound all the way up in _his _apartment, then that can only mean that the obnoxious alarm was coming from _her _place. Lucky for her, she lives under this miserable man that can hear a _sneeze _from her place, but not a piano crashing in any of the other occupants apartments.

The force driving toward her with lumbering heels, lowering brows and a fixed gaze made her feel even more guilty and due for a lecture—despite not doing anything wrong herself.

"Ackerman! How many times have I warned you?! You make too much noise!"

Her hand nearly covered her ears in reflex from the mans obnoxiously broken pitch. Even if you combined all the noise Eren, his friends and herself accumulated since moving here, it still wouldn't equal up to how loud her cranky neighbor is being right now.

"Mr. Woerman, sir, I just got home, I have no idea what's going on." She turned down the polite route, even though she wanted to punch the man in the face for always complaining every time a thimble dropped passed nine o'clock—actually, he complains about noise during the daytime too. Instead of whining to a bunch of college kids, the man ought to consider moving out. Someone of his age can't honestly expect to get peace and quiet while sharing a complex with a ton of students.

"Hmph." He scoffed, letting out a huff that rumpled his auburn mustache. "Out partying, I presume. Typical for a college student."

Mikasa tried to gain control over the wrinkling sneer begging for release. This asshole likes to make assumptions and assume they're the truth. In other words, he's the _worst_ kind of person to know and even worst to have as a neighbor.

"Maybe if you were home a little more that Yeager boy wouldn't make such a ruckus!"

"I'm not his mother, I can't control everything he does. I'll see to it that's he keeps it down," she recited the same line she always has since moving here.

When she moved in closer to her door with her keys ready in hand, her eyes flicked wider. She had just realized that the sound blasting from the other side of the door was the _fire alarm_. "Now, if you'd excuse me, sir, I think my apartment is on fire."

"Huh?!"

She'd rather risk being a victim of a backdraft than listen to that man another second, so she took her chances and escaped inside, slamming the door in his faced and pulled the chain over. Reflectively her hands reached for her ears now that the sound grew louder.

Her eyes watered immediately and the air of the entrance hall felt thick and heavy on her lungs—she coughed out, "What the— Eren? What's going on?"

With no answer, she followed the burning scent and stomped into the smoky kitchen, cutting through the fog like a knife, her blinking lashes swatting the smoke from clogging her vision. The whiff of a crispy burnt scent grew more intense. Upon closer inspection, she found the cause of the "fire" was coming from the toaster that was coughing up black smoke. She waved a cloud away, eyes watering as she swiftly unplugged it from the wall and pulled up a chair to stand on to reset the fire alarm. She hopped back down, calling for Eren again but getting no reply. Needing to clear the smoke, she cranked open the kitchen window for fresh air, letting in a chill into the heated apartment.

"_EREN?_" Her voice sounded louder than the alarm that was previously roaring. This was definitely his doing—it's like leaving a fucking five year old home alone. "Where the hell are you?" She searched for him with fury powering her heel, looking beyond the barricading counter into the living room where she found the guilty guy in question laying on the couch with his headphones blasting loud in his ears, the sound of electric guitars and screaming vocals could be heard from where she stood. She growled while she loped around.

His air drum solo was interrupted when she hostility yanked the jack from his phone.

"Eren!"

Startled and dazed, he rose his hands in defense, but upon seeing it was Mikasa he relaxed and moved his finger to his lips. "_Shhh_, don't be so loud. Mr. Woerman will give us shit again."

Really. Fucking _really? _She nearly snapped and saw the premonition of a violent rampage flash in her mind at that.

"You nearly set the kitchen on fire."

He cocked his head up obliviously. "I did?"

"Yes. And the fire alarm was sounding off though the halls for who knows how long and Mr. Woerman wasn't very happy about it."

"Hm. That explains what that burny smell was." He sniffed, the tickle of the floating soot made him wiggle his nose like a certain witch on TV Land.

"...If you smelt something _burning_, why wouldn't you check what it was? Would you just lay here and burn?"

He squinted up at her like she just hit him with a pop quiz. "Is this a trick question?"

It was during times like this that Mikasa wanted to shake Eren in hopes of awakening that unused brain of his. Instead of resorting to violence, she let out a huff and sat next to him. "I'm pretty sure you broke the toaster. What where you making anyway?"

He thought about it for a second, then popped his eyes wide with a dry gasp. "Oh shit!" He heaved forward and stumbled to his feet, tossing his headphones into Mikasa's lap and dashed to the kitchen.

Mikasa perked up, trying to see for herself what caused Eren to rush off to so urgently.

"My poptarts!" He cried out dramatically enough to nominate him for an Emmy.

Running to the poptarts rescue was useless after they had already burnt to a crisp, but she wouldn't dare say that because she hasn't saw Eren move that fast since high school.

"Ew...it tastes like cigarette ashes." Mikasa heard the dry heave in his voice, like it took all his willpower to keep the mouthful from dispensing.

"Wha—don't eat that, moron." But based on the crunchy chewing, he didn't listen to her advice. Honestly, he acts like she _starves_ him.

Her phone buzzed against her lap and she sighed at the horrible timing. Leisurely, she made herself comfortable on the couch before she dug through her purse. She was in no hurry to answer since she assumed it was Sasha or Connie just making sure she got home alright.

Navigating her thumb over to the notifications, she was pleasantly surprised when she saw the name _'Levi'_ reveal itself.

She multitasked by kicking off her shoes belatedly (since she was a little more concerned about the apartment being on fire than to remove her shoes at the entrance like she normally does) and wiggled out of her jacket to get comfortable, all while reading Levi's message.

**Levi: **Hey, I just got back. Sorry for leaving before. What have you been up to?

_10:41 PM_

**Mikasa: **Well, I went out with friends for frozen yogurt and my roommate nearly burned the apartment complex down. Typical Monday night.

_10:43 PM_

**Levi: **And here I was thinking you'd be bored out of your mind in my absence. Your life sure sounds much more eventful than mine. Care to trade?

_10:44 PM_

**Mikasa: **Wouldn't be a fair trade, because you'd be responsible for my friends. You should know by now how dangerous that is.

_10:45 PM_

**Levi: **I bet they're less crazy than mine.

_10:45 PM_

**Mikasa: **I'd literally bet you anything against that.

_10:45 PM_

**Levi: **Don't make bets you're sure to lose. You're smarter than that.

_10:46 PM_

**Mikasa: **No. I know my friends are worse. If you don't believe me, let's compare. Give me your worse.

_10:47 PM_

**Levi: **Deal. One of my closest friends is creepy and manipulative (not to mention an annoying know-it-all) but has the looks of an innocent supermodel so no one suspects him nor calls him out on his shit.

_10:49 PM_

**Mikasa: **Sounds a lot like my friend Armin. This friend of yours wouldn't happen to be a short blond guy with blue eyes, right?

_10:50 PM_

**Levi: **No, but he's a tall blond guy with blue eyes. I think I need to ask him if he has any sons he doesn't know about.

_10:51 PM_

Mikasa paused her typing to let out a repressed giggle and tried to shake off her smile. They'd probably be good friends or mortal enemies. Either or. It's not really surprising that they both attracted friends with similar personalities when you consider how alike her and Levi are.

**Mikasa: **My best friends is obsessed with eating and makes a scene every time she goes anywhere where there's even a morsel of food.

_10:53 PM_

**Levi:** That doesn't sound too bad. My so-called "best friend" is way worse than that.

_10:54 PM_

**Mikasa: **Levi, a few weeks ago she nearly bit my finger off because I tried to snag a fry from her. She then proceeded to hiss at me.

_10:56 PM_

**Levi:** Okay. I stand corrected. My friend is obsessive too, but let's just say I lose my appetite when they go into detail about the dissections they perform.

_10:59 PM_

**Mikasa:** Dissections? Are they a pathologist or something?

_10:59 PM_

**Levi: **No, worse. They're somehow legally allowed to work with students like yourself. I'm not sure if you ever heard of Dr. Zoë, but they're a biology teacher at your university.

_11:01 PM_

**Mikasa: **I know exactly who that is. That's one of Armin's Professors.

_11:02 PM_

Armin had told that Dr. Zoë was quite eccentric and took their teaching a little too seriously in the most zany ways, but Mikasa had no idea it was _that _eccentric friend Levi had vaguely mentioned a few times before. What a small world.

**Mikasa: **Still, they don't seem too bad.

_11:02 PM_

**Levi: **Go ahead and think that, but don't say I didn't warn you about them. I'm pretty sure I win this round.

_11:03 PM_

**Mikasa: **No way, my friends definitely take the title of weird.

_11:03 PM_

**Levi: **Mikasa, one of my friends smells people when he meets them, like literally smells them like a damn dog. And it's not just a weird habit, he somehow determines if a person is good or bad this way.

_11:05 PM_

That, admittedly, is kind of hard to top.

**Mikasa: **Well, my friend looks like a horse.

_11:06 PM_

**Levi: **Wait. How can someone look like a horse?

_11:06 PM_

**Mikasa: **If you saw Jean, you'd know how. He looks exactly like a horse. He's also the one who is constantly fighting with my roommate; don't even get me started on him. He's the weirdest of them all.

_11:07 PM_

**Levi:** Alright, let's just call it a draw and agree we both have weird friends and were cursed with the company of social rejects.

_11:08 PM_

"Mikasa... the microwave is flipping out on me."

The peaceful world she created with Levi in the short amount of time was torn away from her by Eren's panicked tone. Perfect timing, she was just thinking about how annoying Eren could be. Her head flopped back weakly with a sigh. She spoke dryly to the ceiling, "What are you trying to make? Did you read the directions?"

"I'm just trying to make popcorn, then there was some lightening and I think the microwave got possessed by Zeus and he's pissed at me."

Mikasa blinked up at the ceiling, trying to filter his blabbing into a language she could understand, but by the time she figured out his analogy, it was too late.

"Now it's—!"

Followed by what sounded like a crackling lightening storm came a loud pop that blared, and it certainly _wasn't_ the popcorn. The microwave hissed a dying breath and the electricity short-circuited, leaving only the glow from her phone the lone light source in the apartment.

"What the _hell_ did you do now?" She pushed herself off the couch and used her phone light as guidance through the darkness. She won't argue with him, but Levi's friends can't top hers, no way in hell—the things these idiots make her deal with on a daily bases is enough to give someone a nervous break down.

After much feeling around blindly, she found the fuse-box and after some trial and error, she got the power back on with a flip of a switch and went to the kitchen to tally the damage Eren had caused.

Eren stood there with innocent, yet guilty eyes like a little puppy that had an accident on the floor. When he made faces like that, it was a challenge to be angry at him, but even innocent idiots needed to be given some tough-love now and again.

"...That kind of popcorn is for the _stove top_, Eren. You can't put foil in a microwave. This is common logic."

Eren stomped his heel and threw himself into the dining chair like a baby throwing a hissy fit, giving up with roaring wail. "God damnit. I'm so fucking hungry. Why is nothing working?"

"Because you're a moron. Go eat some cereal or something, you can manage that without screwing up, can't you?"

"But the Lucky Charms are all gone. And we only have Cheerios. I fucking _hate _Cheerios. With a burning passion."

She mumbled a few pleading curses under her breath as she held her head. "You broke the toaster _and_ probably the microwave too all because you're apparently starving, so if you don't eat something after all this damage I'll force feed you myself."

"Ugh...Can't you run to the store real quick and get me—"

"Goodnight, Eren." Mikasa walked off and escaped to her room, not wanting to hear another word from him. She only hoped he wouldn't break something else in her absence. After she fluffed up her pillows, she flopped down on her back and tried to reemerge herself in the conversation with Levi.

**Mikasa: **Indeed, we are definitely cursed. Now that we've settled that, how was the rest of your night? Did the meeting go well?

_11:17 PM_

Levi complained briefly, but the final verdict of the meeting was that it went well and managed to satisfy his editor. Mikasa, feeling motivated to complain a bit herself brought up a pesky assignment that's been on her mind, and Levi gave her some helpful insight on the topic, which she hadn't expected but appreciated. It's nice to have someone to complain to that doesn't get so easily turned-off by some pessimism like many people; in fact negativity seems to be a highlighted trait for Levi, but much like herself he had a knack for vaguely turning around a situation by trying to find a solution. She liked that about him; just another key element she found herself relating to.

Now that they've ran out of topics at-hand, Mikasa brought up the first closely accessible thought that would prolong the conversation.

**Mikasa:** So what are you doing tomorrow?

_11:44 PM_

**Levi:** Why do you ask?

_11:47 PM_

**Mikasa:** Just making conversation.

_11:47 PM_

That wasn't the best way to go about asking this and she certainly didn't like the long pause before his reply. She hoped he didn't get the wrong idea and think she was being nosy. Well, considering her intentions were actually flat-out meddlesome, he wouldn't necessarily be _wrong_. He'd be the smart one, actually, since she's nothing more than a stalker collecting info at this point. Truly disgraceful, but still not enough to convince her she was going the wrong way about this.

It's not so much that she wants to _spy_ on a potential love interest...she just wants to settle some personal curiosity, that's all—she could have swore she heard some stalker use that same exact line on one of those television crime dramas. Maybe she really is a creeper. But in her defense, she never had much experience with guys and her only serious boyfriend up until now was _Jean_ of all people, which proves she doesn't make the best choices when it comes to men.

**Levi:** I have a lot of writing to do for the most part. Tomorrow I'll be held up in my dark room whilst injecting lethal amounts of coffee, cursing my editor to hell and resisting the urges to throw my computer off my balcony. You know, just the glamorous life of a freelance writer.

_11:50 PM_

**Mikasa:** I guess that means you won't be hitting the gym. Sucks for you.

_11:50 PM_

And her, since she was depending on that so the plot she established with Sasha would follow into effect.

**Levi:** No, I'm still going. That's a given; I never miss a day. I'll just head over earlier than usual to make up time.

_11:52 PM_

Earlier than usually, she noted—so he'll likely be at the gym before eight. Mikasa shook her head in a disappointed motion on the fluff of her pillow, a sudden feeling of guilt surging through her. She couldn't believe she was actually considering the idea of _spying_ on some guy from the internet she's been talking to for a week. But—at the rate they're going, neither of them will ask the other out to meet in person any time soon. She knows how unlikely it is that she'll scope him out somehow at the gym, but the hope is worth the effort. She just wants to put a face to the messages already.

One might think asking straight out might be easier, but in this short amount of time she had constructed Levi to be a intimidating man. It's hard to tell through text alone, but she doesn't believe she's wrong to assume this; which is why she's _definitely_ not brave enough to ask for a picture either, because for starters, there must be a valid reason why he didn't put one in the first place, just like herself, and she doesn't want to put them both in an uncomfortable situation by demanding a picture from him—and just the thought of her returning a photo made her cringe. If she had a little more patience, she'd wait it out as long as needed, but over this past week she had shamefully became quite attached to Levi and when she becomes fond of someone or something, it's hard for her to let it go. With that in mind, she naturally became curious about his appearance—she just wants to be able to imagine the man behind the screen.

Simply put, Mikasa thinks she likes him judging by where their development is heading, but she doesn't want to screw anything up by rushing and making him uncomfortable over her own childish impatience. Levi's a decade older than her, he probably has a load of patience and it will take her many years to catch up to the same level as him. Until then, she'll play it safe and settle her curiosity with alternative methods.

That settles it. Before she goes to work tomorrow, she's stopping by Stohess Fitness to apply for a membership _and-of-course-hunt-down-Levi_. If all else fails and she doesn't find him, oh well, she'll carry out her normal routine and head to work after. But it's worth a shot—that little hope itself should make her excited, but for some reason a sudden foreboding feeling overran her. She could only hope that the bad feeling settling in her stomach was just her fluttering nerves.

* * *

So, yeah. Mikasa's friends are just a mess. Especially Eren. Sorry Mikasa, he's kind of your responsibility for now. And it won't get any easier for her because a little cranky man at the gym will give her a hard time. No—it totally isn't Levi, guys. I swear... Okay it is. But she doesn't know that. But she's going to wish she had. Heh. The next chapter is going to be fun.


End file.
